Improved last



i .gieten @tutti WW-eeeaeew Letters Patent No. 91,7 7 4, dated. .Tame22, 1869; aatedated March 3, 1869.

rMPRovED LAST.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part'ot thesame.

To all whom 'it mag/,concern Be it known that' I, ISAAo N. C. SAVILLE,of the oity and county of Worcester, State4 ofMassachusetts,havevinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Lastsfor Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, due reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in whioh--v Figure 1` is a side view of a lastwith my improvement.

Figure 2 is the top ofthe same, showing the hole in .the guard.

My improvement relates to that part of the last, through or into which ahole. is made to receive the stem of the jack, or` holder, forsupporting itl whilst work is being done on the bottom, and is toprevent `the said stem from batteliing, breaking, or splitting the Tothese ends, its nature consists in providing a plate, or guard, fig. l,to surround the hole, and to be rmly embedded in the last, with somemeans of selcuring it there, and hold the wood of the last fromspreading and cracking.

The use of machinery, in the manufacture of boot-s and shoes, brings newrequirements and conditions of the last, as is` shown in the nowextensive use 'of the jack or support, for holding the last, which itdoesby 'fitting into a hole` made in the last.

The varied strain of the work on vthe sole,pwitl1 its accompanyingpounding, soon causes the last to lsplit or break, and become useless.It has been attempted to remedy this, by inserting a tube or lining tothe hole, and also by a strap, with a hole for the jack, and

passing up the sides. Neither of these effects the desired end so fullyas my invention. A A is a plate or guard, (see drawings,) of thickmetal, with a hole, B, for the stem of' the jack.

This guard is firmly embedded in the last ,0, and secured-there by 'theprongs, shown in dott-ed lines in iig. 1, at a a, which pass down oneach side near the outer surface, or screwsmay be substituted, 'or usedi with them, in either oase being so placed as to em-v brace aconsiderable portion of the wood of the last, and hold it fromsplitting.

In .very small lasts the prongs may be placed at the corners, whilst inlarge ones they may be at the sides of the hole, and more or less ofthem used, as found most desirable. v y

The pounding of the work on the sole has no opportunity to batter up andloosenthis plate as it does the strap, but only tends to tighten, bydriving home the prongs.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The guard A, firmly embedded in and secured to the last by the prongs,or their equivalents,

embracing a portion of thewood, to prevent splitting, when constructedand operating as set forth and described.

I. N. O. SAVILLE.

Vitnesses: C. M. MILES, o F. O.v THAYER.

